Mike Atherton

Branding: All in the Mind

Synopsis

The market for interactive products is getting ever more crowded. Every week a new crop of websites and apps vie for our attention. But the real battleground is not on the App Store; it’s in the mind. This talk discusses the building blocks of brand and how it’s so much more than a logo and a colour palette. Brand is an idea which occupies a corner of our mind. It stems from our values and it’s expressed through our personality. By understanding how to build brand effectively, we can design better, more distinctive, more memorable products which clearly set us apart from the competition. I’ll tell the story of how I used this approach at a B2B startup, and explore historical examples of brands which have mastered the art of positioning and differentiation. You’ll come away with the tools to cement a single, simple idea in the mind of your audience and be encouraged to showcase that idea at the heart of your product.

About Mike

Mike Atherton is a UX consultant and formerly the Head of User Experience for Huddle. With a background in information architecture and web design, Mike previously worked with the BBC on structured content services for lifelong learning. He has a keen interest in brand strategy, theme parks, and animal mascots and attempts to introduce all three into every digital product he works on.